Sweet Destiny
by AAclub
Summary: [AU]Tamao wasn't so sure about anything anymore. Surely her one and only true love would be Horo horo? But there was something about the new transfer student that appealed to her... even as he annoyed her to no end.
1. Prologue: Remember my Memories

**Sweet Destiny**

Author: Helena-Jeanne-Chibi

Category: Romance/Drama

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Tamao wasn't so sure about anything anymore. Surely her one and only true love would be Horo horo? But there was something about the new transfer student that appealed to her... even as he annoyed her to no end. However, as time dragged on, it turned out to be something much, much more complicated...

Disclaimer: Shaman King: not mine.

Yes, yes, I cut out all that crap about the interviewer. -.- Even as we speak, or type, or whatever, I know this Prologue would be dead confusing, since it's set after the whole story. But anyway, it's not that bad...

_Italics _for flashbacks, thoughts&emphasis

**Bold** for emphasis on _italics_

**Prologue: Remember my Memories**

'_Do you, Tamamura Tamao, take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?'_

'_I-I do.' Although my voice was slightly unsteady, I was certain of my decision._

'_If ye have any objections, speak now or forever hold your peace.'_

_My heart thudded against my chest, as if expecting an objection. _No, forget about him. _I told myself._

_Silence. _

'_I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride, Mr. H-'_

* * *

I woke up with a start. I had been dreaming about the past, yet again. How ironic. I tried to bury them deep in the back of my mind, only to dream about them in my sleep. Anyhow... 

I looked around.

Everything was so... white.

Sighing, I rested my eyes against the white glare of the room, only to be plunged into another dream of a memory of what seemed to be long, long ago.

* * *

'_Tamao, where are we going?' Jeanne gasped as I ran down the steep slope, dragging her with me._

_I smiled mischievously but said nothing. Though it was easy running downhill, my cheeks were flushed, my eyes dancing with excitement as I collapsed by the Wishing Tree. _

_I turned to Jeanne. 'Can I tell you a secret?'_

'_...Of course!'_

'_Do you promise never ever to tell?' I enquired solemnly, looking expectantly at my silver-haired best friend._

'_Yes.' Jeanne crossed her heart in a silent vow._

'_Well...' I blushed._

'_Well...?'_

'I have a crush on Usui Horo horo.'I said as fast as I could.

_A brief pause._

'_You're kidding... Horo horo?'_

_I nodded wordlessly._

'_He doesn't even notice you.'_

'_I know.'_

_A soft breeze played with my pink tendrils._

_Jeanne rested a pale hand on my shoulder. 'But trust me, you'll definitely get over it in three years.'_

And if only it was destined to be.

**Tsuzuku**

As you probably had already figured out, this story is in Tamao's point of view. Tamao and Jeanne were ten years old in the second flashback.

I'm not very good at doing prologues, am I? Well, it gets better starting the next chapter...

Hel


	2. As Long As The Two Never Forget

**Sweet Destiny**

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King, and that goes for the rest of the story.

Yes folks, Hel has returned with all her senseless mumblings and drabblings and fumblings and bablings and ramblings and stumblings and dumplings and... oops, I seemed to have ran out of -blings... Anyways, to answer all the reviews, I'd say you will find out who the hell is Mr. H in due time. Also, the show hasn't even started yet!

And what made me type up this chapter after such a long wait, you might ask? Well, yesterday I dreamt that a steady breathing, almost snoring-like sound was coming from my computer, and it was moving in rhythm to the sound, almost like it was alive. When I woke up, I was dismayed to find that _I_ was the one making that hideous noise in my sleep.

Now, you might find that the first part of this chapter don't make much sense and perhaps incredibly boring. However, you will just have to be patient and read on, as you will find out all about it soon enough.

_Italics_ for emphasize, sound affects, andTamao's thoughts

**Chapter 1: As Long As The Two Never Forget**

She opened her eyes to darkness.

_Drip, drip._

Something wet fell on her nose, making her senses tingle with the cool touch.

She closed her eyes again, and willed herself to go back to sleep.

_Drip, drip, drip._

There it went again, followed by a damp musty smell.

She sat up abruptly, her heart racing. Looking around wildly, she could see nothing but a deep, echoing darkness. Nothing but darkness...

A shiver ran down her spine. Her eyes tightly closed, she pulled her knees close to her chest and braced herself for the oppressed feeling that was sure to come. There was only one thing on her mind – the looming walls which seemed to close in all around her...

Something flickered at the back of her eyes. She opened an eye, just a tiny bit, to make sure. At first, she was sure she had imagined it. But as she opened both eyes wide and strained to see, she realized... it was there.

At length, faint footsteps accompanied by a barely audible voice could be heard. 'Tamao-chan? Are you there?'

She scrambled to her feet – she had recognized that voice. Her heart in her mouth, she crept along the damp wall toward the unknown light, which grew brighter and brighter to the point when she thought it must be close. She started to pick up her pace, eager to reach the light, but was stopped short as she bumped into something solid and, dizzy from the impact, slipped to the ground. Amidst the seemingly blinding light, a hand reached out to her.

'Wow, I never seemed to noticed how much of a klutz you are,' a sly voice remarked. 'Need a hand?'

Her blood boiled. Pointedly ignoring the out-stretched hand, she drew herself to her full height and looked the person in the eye, only to see... a brown blur. But judging by the strange beige-colored piece of cloth draped over his shoulders, she decided, it must be a boy.

Something was not right. It almost felt like something was _trying_ to prevent her from seeing the boy's face. But as to what, she didn't quite know. What she did know was that she couldn't really trust this boy, at least not yet.

And yet... she felt safe. It was nothing like the spine-chilling horror in the dark now... A warm, happy feeling was growing inside of her; happiness and... relief. As if she knew the stranger enough to _know_ that he will do anything to protect her, to keep her away from danger... even though she couldn't even recall his name. In fact, she couldn't remember much of anything at all.

She didn't have time to dwell on it much as she noticed the damp stone walls and raw stone floor which could be seen in the torchlight. She was puzzled. Had she died and landed in hell? Or maybe gone back to the stone age or something? She stole a glance at the boy's peculiar choice of _clothing_, if you could call it that. As amnestic as she was, she did remember living in a _modern_ age, where people live in houses and apartments of all sorts, but certainly not caves.

'You fell through a holeinto this old run-down mine when you were doing jumping-jacks,' he said, in the patronizingly superior tone that annoyed her to no end, '_in case you can't remember.'_

Comprehension dawned on her briefly and she thought fast for a retort.

'It's the hole's fault,' she said shamelessly.

An amused chuckle.

She paused. 'What's so funny?'

He grinned good-naturedly. 'You're just so... cute when you do that.'

A faint blush crept its way on her cheeks as she took sudden interest in the stone floor.

'By the way,' he drawled, 'Do you suppose that you have a rope of some kind?'

She thought the world was about to end. 'If I had a rope, I would have gotten out of here a long time ago without any of _your_ help!'

'Oh yeah... I never thought about that...' He started scratching the back of his head sheepishly, but froze at her pronounced glare. He let his hand drop to his side and sighed. 'Look. I was kinda worried when you fell in, especially with your claustrophobia and all... So I jumped in carrying with me this buddy here.' he paused, gesturing to the burning torch. 'And I already called for help... I think.'

An exasperated sigh escaped her lips. 'I swear, you're acting like that twin of yours everyday.'

The brunette merely replied with a careless shrug.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. It was the kind of silence where you could hear the tiniest sounds: the constant dripping of the damp ceiling, the flickering hiss of the blazing torch, even the distant scuttle of a mouse. Then, an idea came to her.

The brunette looked faintly amused as he was dragged down to sit on the cold stone floor, his precious torch set aside.

'While we wait, let's make a spell.'

He raised an eyebrow. 'A spell?'

'Yes, a spell.' She reached for his fingers and entwined them with her own. 'Repeat after me,'

Dubiously, he nodded.

'Like the shining stars in the night sky,'

'Like the shining stars in the night sky,'

'Melting hearts will not be separated,'

'Melting hearts will not be separated,'

'Even if these hands are separated,'

'Even if these hands are separated,'

'As long as the two never forget...'

'As long as the two never forget...'

She could've sworn it glowed, if only for an instant. She opened her eyes again and, to her utter amazement, the boy's face became gradually clearer, almost like a video camera focusing into view. Before long, she could make out two midnight black orbs staring back at her, captivating her soul...

* * *

Tamamura Tamao sat up in bed, suddenly wide awake. 

_Who was that boy? _She shook her head. Whoever he was, he must have been very important to her.

_But had it all been a dream? Or... _It wasn't until then that she realized the dream must have been another piece of memory from her forgotten past. Another piece of the puzzle... That would've really explained the scary-looking blurry mask of the boy. Once againshe was reminiscent of what Kino-sensei had said gently but unsmilingly, long ago.

'_You don't have any parents because they both died in a car accident, and you were with them. You were lucky that you didn't die with them, and lost your memories instead. You may live with Anna for the next few years in one of the Asakura mansions in Tokyo. The Asakura Corporation will pay for all your living and schooling expenses. That is all, you are dismissed.'_

And that was exactly six years ago. Tamao remembered, clear as though it was yesterday, how she had felt so alone in the world. So... uncared for. But that was also how she came to live here, in Funbari Onsens, with Anna. She hadn't exactly enjoyed it, of course, but at least she survived.

A faint mewing sound could be heard as a furry yellow ball jumped deftly onto her bed. Oh, and did she mention they also had a cat? Kino-sensei had given Matamune under their care as a parting gift. The cat settled on her lap and purred loudly as she stroked his soft fur absent-mindedly. A moment there, he could've fooled anyone that he was just an ordinary cat. But he was most extraordinary, hardly catlike with his forehead lined with tiger stripes and two striped tails sprouting from behind. And he had the most intelligent eyes, as he seemed to be able to understand human speech. Most puzzling of all, the striped cat always seemed to be there when she needed him most. In fact, she could still remember the dream where Matamune was dressed most ridiculously like a cat-monk, a long tobacco pipe extending from his split-lipped mouth. She and her overactive imagination.

But lately, she was having all those dreams about events she was sure had happened before and she was able to put them together bit by bit. She had deduced that Kino-sensei had sent her away for a reason. And a very good one at that. From her dreams, it was easy to tell that the old woman was very fond of Tamao, bringing her up as her own granddaughter. And the Estate should be roomy enough for her to stay... Not that she felt like complaining either.

During the short days of her stay at the Estate, she felt very much intimidated by Mari, the maid who were to serve her. Of course, you couldn't _not_ know her name when she goes 'Mari this' and 'Mari that' all day. And she kept on glaring at her and muttering in an undertone for her to stay away from her Hao-sama, as if the pink-haired girl actually had a clue as to who in the world 'Hao-sama' was.

Then again, she was afraid of so many things that it was impossible to count. The alarm clock Anna had bought to wake her up each morning with its frighteningly loud screeches was one of them. Automatically, her eyes darted to the bedside table.

Her bed seemed to tumble beneath her. "EIGHT FIFTEEN!" She nearly screamed her head off, and would've kept on screaming and gasping in panic if her mind's eye hadn't seen a fleeting image of a daunting Anna glaring viciously. Boy, she must have slept _real_ soundly.

After managing to stumble down the stairs without breaking her neck, Tamao saw that breakfast was already served... only Anna was already finishing up.

"About time," said Anna indifferently as she stood up. "Let's go."

"B-but...!" Tamao stuttered, her watering eyes glued to the table full of food.

"Here's your lunch." Anna stuffed a brown paper bag in her hands. "You can eat at lunch. Now we have to hurry or we'll be late."

She then proceeded to drag Tamao out the door, who struggled in vain for her breakfast.

Anna let go when they were almost there, and left Tamao to sulk in peace. If Tamao was to name one thing she had learned while living with Anna, it was to _never_ wake up late and still early enough to make it to school, or one was sure to go through the entire morning without breakfast.

**Tsuzuku**

* * *

**.Vocabulary.**

Claustrophobia: extreme or irrational fear of confined places.

**.Personalities.**

Since this story is completely AU, as you might have guessed, the characters are bound to have slightly different personalities. So I'll just briefly describe them here.

**.Asakura Hao.**

As you probably have guessed, 'the boy' in Tamao's dream is Chibi Hao. Unfortunately, our little Tamao doesn't know that. Yet. Anyway, the Hao in this story is quite devious and cunning, even as a child. As a childhood hobby, he likes to annoy Tamao. Which he uses his resourcefulness to do so _all the time_. That's the reason for the sudden mood change from sly and patronizing, to carefree and mindless. And I hope that would also explain how he's managed to calm Tamao down so fast. He wouldn't want her to stay mad at him forever.

**.Tamamura Tamao.**

Personally, I think the reason making her that shy is she was all cooped up in the Estate with people who kept telling her that she's just a trainee. That's a major factor for her lack of confidence. And also being cooped up, she wasn't able to see all the other boys out there, and fell in love with Yoh. But things have changed. The Tamao in this story is just like any average girl. Timid with strangers and adults, always worked up by something, Tamao is also very... _annoyable_. She can get really absorbed into her thoughts and sometimes, when she's thinking again, her own thoughts scared her. I believe that is owing to having such a... _imaginative_ mind.

Horo horo is still to come in the next chapter. In the meantime, I have to clarify some other things. As annoying as I am, I was not trying to make fun of Hao's poncho or Mari. It's just how Tamao thinks of them. Poor Tamao... tormented by a mad fanfiction author to go to school without eating anything... She would die of hunger. Unless...

I also realized that most of the sentences start with a pronoun. I'm sorry, but I'm just not very creative on these kind of things and therefore not bother with them. Though I must say, I am being quite creative using different words for 'scary'. Lol. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please review. Bye bye!

Hel


End file.
